ApplenamesJeffWilliamsaschiefoperatingofficer

Apple has announced a number of changes to its executive team, including naming Jeff Williams to the role of chief operating officer. Additionally, Johny Srouji is joining the team as senior vice president for hardware technologies, Phil Schiller will expand his senior vice president of worldwide marketing role to include leadership of the App Store across all platforms, and Tor Myhren will join Cupertino as vice president of marketing communications.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, spoke up about the changes and the contributions several key executives have already been making.

We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple’s executive team. As we come to the end of the year, we’re recognizing the contributions already being made by two key executives. Jeff is hands-down the best operations executive I’ve ever worked with, and Johny’s team delivers world-class silicon designs which enable new innovations in our products year after year.

Williams joined Apple in 1998 as the head of worldwide procurement, and was named vice president of operations in 2004. Since 2010, he has overseen the entire supply chain for Cupertino, along with service and support and the social responsibility initiatives protecting more than a million workers worldwide.

The other changes to Apple’s executive team equally reflect the contributions existing members have made, along with the benefits the new additions should be able to add to Cupertino’s strength as a tech giant. It’s interesting to see these shifts being announced close to the holidays, and it will be just as exciting to see what new directions these team players direct Apple towards in 2016.